Katara

One of the Fire Nation soldiers shoved Katara hard, causing her to momentarily lose her step and stumble. He caught her shoulder before she could fall. Katara swallowed hard as he tied rope around her wrists. It was tight, but she found it did not affect her. She saw only the red on the walls and on the floor, and the black on the wall where the firebenders had singed it. She saw her family's friends and servants laying dead or unconscious on the floor. And every time she blinked, she saw her father.

He had told her to look away, to not give the firebenders the satisfaction of forcing her to watch, but she hadn't been able to look away. She had seen everything. She had seen it.

Katara had only been able to scream. The firebender holding her had warmed his hands, and still she screamed. She had screamed until he silenced her with a blow to the back of her head. When she awoke, she had been lying beside Yue on the dining hall floor. Yue had still been unconscious. The Fire Nation soldiers had piled up the most valuable things they could find in the corridors.

The firebender hauled Katara to her feet. The one beside him scooped up Yue and her polar dog. "What do we do with them?" The man carrying Yue asked. "We can't kill them."

"Says who?" The man named Zhao said. "But no, they'll be a...ransom of sorts, back in the Fire Nation. If their people still see the need to rebel, we'll have something important to them." He caught Katara's gaze and and she lunged at him. The firebender restraining her pulled her back, tightening his grip on her forearm. "And with no chief, they'll be without order."

"The South will never bend to the Fire Nation," Katara snapped, "not to you or your stupid king!"

Zhao smirked and produced a flame in his hand, holding it close to Katara's face. "I admire your people's pride, truly I do considering you all live in blocks of ice. But you see, little girl, your father the chief is dead. The South has one knee bent already. And once you are in the Fire Nation, they'll grovel at the Phoenix King's feet."

She spat in his face.

Zhao pulled away in disgust, eyes blazing. "Take the other girl and put her on the first ship, and because I feel kind, let her keep the polar dog, " he ordered, "but I want this one to watch." He laughed.

Katara watched as the firebender carried Yue away and another followed, gingerly holding the pup as it squirmed and yelped. "You already killed my father," she snarled, "I hope you know that nothing you can do can break us."

"I'm certain I have my ways," Zhao chuckled and turned to the pile of valuables on the ground. He knelt and picked up Hakoda's bone dagger, and cleaned it. He nodded and the man restraining Katara pulled her backwards, towards the exit of the dining hall.

Zhao conjured a ball of fire and hurled it at the pile of valuables. It caught fire almost immediately, with a roar and a brilliant flash of light. Katara shied away from the flame and the sudden smoke, feeling tears slide down her cheeks. Zhao grinned and brushed by them. "Burn it to the ground," he said casually and patted Katara on the cheek, his hand still warm. "Burn it all to the ground."

The Fire Nation soldier threw Katara over his shoulder and she watched as the dining hall caught fire, the flames licking at the walls. She clenched her fists and squeezed her eyes shut. She saw the golden and orange flames dancing across her eyelids, and she saw her father, his last stand against the Fire Nation and she told herself that even though his blood was on the floor, she would be strong.

The trail of black smoke followed them and Katara gasped for air, flailing her legs. The soldier caught them and held on painfully, quickening his stride.

When Katara opened her eyes, they were outside. She saw Zhao up ahead and the sailor carrying Yue just in front of her. The white-haired princess's head lolled to the side, her braids coming loose. Katara wished she could waterbend with her mind. Perhaps she could bend the water and freeze the firebenders, perhaps she could find Sokka...

Sokka.

Katara opened her mouth to call for her brother, but thought better of it. Sokka was somewhere else, she thought, hopefully safe. Hopefully.

Katara thought about the snow and the ice, and her mother and her grandmother, and the stories she had told her. She did not think about her father or Sokka, she did not think about herself. She pictured a tiny white light and she called that light, hope.

That, she told herself, would never die.

A firebender blocked her view, holding up a strip of cloth. He wrapped it around her eyes, blindfolding her. She didn't need it, she wanted to tell him, because even though he covered her eyes she would still see, and she would remember.

She heard the ocean, a sound that was normally constant and gentle, but now it seemed to loud and violent. She heard the clanking of boots against a metal ramp and then she was set roughly on the ground. She found that it, too, was metal. The rope on her wrists was removed and Katara moved to rub her wrists, but her arms were forced to her sides by her capturer.

He marched her along, her steps resonating around her. The air grew warmer and Katara could feel the ocean beneath her, the ever-present hum of the water and the twitch of her fingers. She was a waterbender and it called to her, even now when she was separated from the ocean by metal and wood.

"Watch your step," the firebender said, more kindly than Katara had expected. He guided her up a set of stairs with one hand tightly gripping her and the other nudging her in the small of her back. "I'm not responsible for any busted lips."

"You're responsible for anything happening to me," Katara said to him, "if you hurt me, then you'll have to pay. My people won't stand for it." She placed one foot on the step, tapping her heel.

He laughed. "Little girl, your father was just killed, do you not understand what that means? It means the south has already fallen, it means this block of ice has no leader. It means you have already lost." Katara could not see him, but she imagined his expression would be one of amusement and pity.

They reached the final step and continued down a corridor for a few paces. The firebender raised his leg and kicked in what sounded like a door, tearing off her blindfold in one fluid motion. He had led her to a room, which Katara found confusing. It wasn't terribly small and she was sure that aside from the color, it was decent for a prisoner.

The room was red.

Katara's stomach turned and she swallowed audibly, turning back to the firebender. He stepped out and closed the door, and Katara heard it lock into place, leaving her alone.

Katara sat and put her head in her hands. The red spun around her, and Katara saw her grandmother standing before her. She saw her brother and she saw Yue. Her father lay before her and Katara thought she might retch.

Her mother sat next to her, her hand laying on Katara's shoulder. The apparition was at least how Katara imagined her mother would look, her lovely blue eyes and soft brown skin. "It'll be alright," the illusion of her mother told her, "you must have hope."

"You must have hope," Katara repeated and looked down at her hands.

The ocean beneath her swayed and sang its ancient song, its wordless hum resonating through her veins until Katara could feel it dancing in every part of her being, raising the hairs on her arms and tightening her muscles, and coursing through her blood. She set her breaths to the push and pull of the sea, to the heartbeat of the ocean spirit, and for a long time, there was nothing but the water.